Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana held a meeting on Thursday with his Ukrainian counterpart, Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, for the first time since the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine. The meeting between the two was carried out as part of Ukrainian demands for public Israeli support for the country.
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Ohana also reached another political milestone when he met with the Speaker of the Turkish Parliament at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, 15 years after such a meeting was held. Next month, Netanyahu is also expected to meet with Erdogan as part of warming ties between the two countries.
In fact, Ohana held 16 bilateral meetings yesterday in Dublin, Ireland, with parliamentary speakers from around the world, and addressed the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, which includes some 47 countries. As part of his state visit, the Speaker of the Knesset also met with the leaders of the country's Jewish community, followed by a festive reception ceremony held by the Speaker of the Irish Parliament, Sean Operghel, and Senate Speaker Jerry Batimer.
Ohana with his Turkish counterpart. Political milestone, photo: Maxwell Photography
In meetings with his colleagues, Ohana discussed normalization efforts. "We are working on expanding the circle of peace with more Arab countries, which will change the face of the Middle East and have the potential to bring an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict." Ohana also spoke about voting patterns and anti-Israel resolutions made by international bodies, saying that it is important for the Israeli side to be heard and expressed.
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He also spoke with them about the efforts to strike a balance between the branches of government and briefed them on the details of the bills under discussion, the security situation in the region, the chances of signing new peace agreements, first and foremost with Saudi Arabia, and the danger posed by Iran in light of its actions and efforts to obtain nuclear weapons.
The Council of Europe is one of the international political organizations established at the end of World War II, and today it has about 47 members from within the continent. The State of Israel has the special status of observer in the European Parliamentary Assembly, which it received already in 1957 and was the first to receive this status. The Parliamentary Assembly convenes 4 times a year, and its activities are influenced by the political arena in Europe.
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